Posted
by
timothy
on Friday August 26, 2011 @07:39PM
from the token-effort-for-stealing-tokens dept.

First time accepted submitter milbournosphere writes "It appears that GameStop has a guilty conscience. They are offering a $50 gift certificate to any person who bought the new Deus Ex at GameStop. You may recall that GameStop has admitted to removing the OnLive codes good for one free game from new, unopened copies of the game. From GameStop's email: 'For your inconvenience, we would like to offer you a free $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase. We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor.'"

Give em a break. Their business model is dead and they know it. Just like we no longer buy dead tree, why should be go and buy a hunk of plastic in a bit of dead tree? Much more convenient to impulse buy from your lounge chair.

i buy stuff from steam every week pretty much in their sales as do my friends. games are just overpriced, that's the real reason people download them. I won't buy deus ex till it's half price for example. online stores allow you to easily expolit the long tail effect since you don't need to keep stock on shelves.

I'd put good money on the bet that within 20 years, we'll see a resurgence of physical media - books, games,etc.

I agree, if it's not banned either by environmental regulation or by media collusion. These so called millennials don't yet have enough perspective to understand what is going to come of the trends that they're embracing. People my age lived through the obsolescence of 8-Track, vinyl records, cassettes, BetaMax, DIVX, VHS, LaserDisc, MiniDisc, 5.25" floppies, 3.5" floppies, Zip Disks, Jaz Disks, Bernoulli disks, MO drives and I'm sure a few other things that I haven't thought about since the 1980s. When the

I disagree. I could go on steam right now and buy the witcher 1, along with the witcher 2, both of which I quite want to play.

Or, I could buy the boxed copies off of amazon for cheaper.And get a manual, a story book, a cd with extra missions and a making of cd. Just for the witcher 1.For 2 I'll get a coin, a map, a replica of an ingame pamphlet.Buying physical copies for some games is very very beneficial. Plus it gives you a nice collection on a shelf. I just need to get 2 pen drives, put the updates on th

Well, if the extra stuff is just going to go in a box and take up space, you aren't really getting more. As for cheaper, I just checked the prices and they have roughly the same price (2$ more on amazon for new, 2$ less for used) not including shipping and handling. Lastly, if you download (legally or not) you don't have to wait nearly as long.

I actually liked the in-box junk that came with the old Ultima games. The cloth map, and the trinkets, and the faux-leather bound user manual/"Book of Lore". Something real-world and tangible to bring just that little bit of extra life to the game.

I wanted a physical copy of The Witcher 2, but ended up purchasing it on gog.com instead as it is a sister-company of the developer and I wanted to make sure more of my money went directly to them to support the lack of DRM and overall quality development they do.

Uhhh...because many of us, in fact I would argue soon ALL of us, have data caps? I'm all for buying online but the fabled "download anytime model" is gonna die hard. Kinda hard to "shop from your lounge chair" and download it if it is gonna cost you $1.50 per Gb if you go over. And if anything thanks to Amazon my family buys more dead tree databases than ever before. With Amazon I can just slap some money in my account and let mom go to town. I do the same for my boys for games, and myself for games and musical equipment.

So I'd say buying dead tree and plastic is alive and well, it is GameSlop douchebaggery that is dying out. You treat your customers right you'll have plenty of business. but TFA shows GameSlop simply doesn't understand that concept.

Oh don't worry comrade, soon our corporate overlords will simply bribe the right people and the next thing you know you'll have three strikes laws as far as the eye can see! The thing about OUR corps is they never ever keep their douchebaggery to themselves, no sir, they spread it all over the planet! Enjoy citizen!

Uhhh...because many of us, in fact I would argue soon ALL of us, have data caps? I'm all for buying online but the fabled "download anytime model" is gonna die hard.

Here in Finland none of the ISPs have data caps on regular hardlines, and still only a few of them have data caps on mobile connections with the majority having uncapped ones. So far all the capped ones have received lackluster reception from the consumers and thus they've simply been dropped eventually from the ISPs' service plans. Not to mention that connection quality is usually atleast acceptable if not great, and atleast my ISP doesn't even do any traffic shaping either. So, atleast here those "downloa

We? Who the fuck is "we"? You got a turd in your pocket? Oh, you must be under 20. Wait until you're my age kid. Live through a couple of abandoned formats and you'll learn the attractiveness of a medium that doesn't rely on a third party remaining in business.

In all fairness, what they are offering sounds much better than the coupon they took out. Unlike the Sony asshats that offered a free month (zero cost to themselves) for unleashing your credit card data all over the net.

IMHO, this seems like a fair deal and an honest attempt to correct a mistake. After all, no one bought the game originally just to get the coupon, so most of the purchasers are getting way more than they paid for.

And...... of course it is a coupon for their own company, plus BOGO offer on

It wasn't a mistake, it was a purposeful altering of a product prior to selling it as 'new' without telling anyone.

The claim is that they didn't want to sell what is essentially a coupon for a competitor's store, and I don't blame them, but they could very well have been up front about that prior to the sale and included this 'deal' in its place then instead of now.

IMHO what they should have done PRIOR to this whole batch of idiocy: Accept the coupon themselves. Just like many grocers have been doing for years for their competitors coupons.Corporate short sightedness strikes again.

How is that not a mistake? Given they are now apologizing . Hint: purposefulness does not change whether something is a mistake or not.

"It was a mistake to punch Joe in the face." "It was a mistake to steal the cookie." "It was a mistake to watch the Matrix 2." "It was a mistake to pick the chocolate flavor." "It was a mistake to have sex with the bosses daughter." All common usages of mistake for something done purposefully.

They did it on purpose, definitely, but it was a mistake to do it at all. The $50 dollars definitely covers the cost of the coupon, and the buy 2 get one free deal also results in "free" stuff to the customer. I think Gamestop is being fair here: They're giving the customer back what they took (arguably more, a coupon can only be used to redeem one specific game that they already had, they can get anything with this gift card), and extending a special offer to those they screwed over.

Several other have already articulated why this *was* a mistake, and it certainly was. What matters most is that they admitted it was a mistake, and instead of punting the blame, or being miserly in dealing with it, they put their money where their mouth was and instantly stopped the practice AND compensated everyone who was affected with something that was worth much more than the original coupon, arguably twice the value since the coupon was good for any game, plus the buy1/get1 on used, any used.

I am a firm believer that, if I try to take X from someone, and get caught, I need to do far more than "return X". It's not about revenge, but about making this kind of behavior unprofitable enough so that the losses exceed the gains. I didn't buy the game, but if I bought something there, and didn't get EXACTLY what I paid for, including the game, the box, the manual,. and everything else that the manufacturer had wanted me, the customer, to have, then I would feel that they had cheated me.

I have to agree with you there. What game stop did was retarded, an abuse of all trusts, and borderline illegal. But I do have to admit this attempt to fix it, is actually abnormally good for a snafu of this sort. Most companies even despite outrage will at best offer the customers to come in and get the receipt, gamestop is basically giving out 1 free new game (personally I do see the BOGO used game coupon as a ploy, that is a coupon that gains them more then it costs them) as compensation for screwing som

My last 5 comments were modded troll, not just this one. IE: drive by modding by someone who does like me. The system is supposed to be designed to notice this and deny mod points in the future to people who use points like this. I can karma to burn, so it doesn't hurt me, just shows how petty some people are.

In this instance, it seems like they really are trying to fix a mistake.

If they wanted to "fix" the mistake they could pay for OnLive service for anyone that was deprived of the experience by this unethical practice. Anything else is just blowing smoke up the customers asses.

I'd say it's definitely a win for the customers too. Either you get a 50 dollar coupon for a useless streaming site for a game you already own... or you get to actually buy any game you want for 50 dollars. Sounds like a total win to me.

well, technically, they are making a client to do just that, in practice they are making it for android tablets specifically along with ipad client. Add to that the UK release next month and I guess they are already quite busy.

I think it's a neat technology and I'm interested in what other people (would genuinely) think. Usually you get people saying "It'll never work" though they've never tried it. And it's trivial to try it. That bugs me. I hate people talking out their asses like that.

I also flog Perspectives every time HTTPS woes are mentioned. I have no relation to the project, but I think it's a great technology with some hope of doing something about the CAs

Neat technology? It's all about making it so you don't buy games, you rent a license to run the game on a central server from your dumb terminal (with the associated datamining, and the inevitable monthly demand to pay again for the same game). It's one step towards not actually owning computers, but simply dumb terminals that connect to servers run by giant conglomerates who shaft you with monthly fees - and that's not even counting the ISPs with their gargantuan per-GB fees making sure you end up paying

I understand the $50 as a sorry.. But how can they offer the Buy 2 get 1 pre-owned game, when that is a everyday sort of deal. Or at least Everytime I walk into my local gamestop they have signs posted about it.

This is extremely easy to answer: The removal of the coupon got them bad news on CNN, etc. By saying they are giving everyone a $50 credit and mentioning their buy two get one free on used, they are actually paying very little for good advertizing. Every news story about this will include their deal for their used games.

If I was the cynical type, I'd say they planned it all along for the free advertizing.

I did not see many people taking Gamestop's side in all this. From their point of view publishers have been trying to ruin their business for a long time now. First they debate the legality of second hand sales. Then they begin offering their own distribution methods. Now they are specifically advertising for a competing market but using the old one that got them rich in the first place.

Probably because most people have a story like mine: go to Gamestop to buy a new game, and instead get a lecture about why I should have pre-ordered a month ago. Walk across the street to big box store that doesn't specialize in games. Buy game. Never go to Gamestop again.

I didn't even know I wanted the game before release, and I shouldn't have to put up with that nonsense from a game store when a random big box can stock new games without a fuss.

GameStop's core product is used games, which they are massively better at selling than anyone else. You can complain about pricing if you like, but they move huge volumes of used games. Think it's not worth it to buy a used copy for only $5 less than new? That might be true of you, but whenever a big title is released like Call of Duty, those used copies are often sold before they even get put out on the shelves. GameStop only sells PC games at all to avoid upsetting publishers - the money earned from t

If they didn't want to distribute something that was in normal packaging of the product they should have negotiated a special run of the game, not broken every shrink wrap. It happens all the time (like certain games offering special unlocks when buying at certain outlets).

"From their point of view publishers have been trying to ruin their business for a long time now."

If they don't want to sell items that include incentives from those publishers, they are free not to sell those items. If instead they open the boxes, steal part of what's being sold, and then sell those boxes as "new," well that's when people tend to not take Gamestop's side.

I was going to pre-order Forza 4 from Gamestop before this happened. Now I'm going to pre-order it from somewhere else. Anywhere else. Fu

Their business isn't selling games, it's selling used games. That's what makes them money. It's no wonder they have an antagonistic relationship with publishers.

However, regardless of what you think about things like included day one DLC or paid multiplayer passes, this was absolutely unacceptable behavior on Gamestop's part. And they know it. This is a pretty blatant attempt to dodge a class-action suit.

STOP OPENING MY GAMES. This is why I never buy from GameStop / EB, because you have the audacity to OPEN everything before I do. You know what shrink wrap is supposed to mean?, it means I'm guaranteed on getting an UNALTERED product.

ESPECIALLY with most stores not taking back opened copies.

Oh, when you hear about say,selling used games as if they were new [kotaku.com], or say, ripping off the customers, and then trying to distract them with a shiny gift card,it makes me trust you even less then I did before.

Their entire buisness model is based on selling Used Games. They make next to nothing on a new game purchase, usually only $5 or so, however, a used game is nearly 100% profit. That's also why they always ask you if you want to buy a used copy of the game for less when you try buying a new disc. MOAR PROFIT.

This is wasteful corporate stupidity at it's best. First, pay employees to spend time opening factory sealed new games to remove a voucher for a free ~$50 game from a competing service included in something they are selling. Then, when people find out about it, claim to have done nothing wrong at first, alienating and forcing people to question their trust in GameStop, and then after people have ample time to stew over it, follow it up by sheepishly offering a free $50 game purchase AND a Buy 2 get 1 Free p

anyone who still shops @ brick and mortar stores is asking for this sort of thing. Steam and NewEgg don't remove vouchers. Nor do they require gas $ to take a trip to the store. Or charge tax. Or require you to deal with annoying sales people.

Yes, but when I want a game NOW....I want it fucking *NOW*...not in three to six business days, or for an extra $30 for super-rushed shipping on a 1lbs package.

I admit to having that urge too. But then I remembered that I can get stuff from newegg in less than 2 days, and that is with standard shipping. It never takes more than 2. And if you can't wait a measly 48 hours to play a video game, you are either an impatient child or you get everything you deserve when you head to a local shop. Also, Steam downloads your game instantly. Faster than than it would take you to head to your local shop in most cases. My steam games never download slower than 2.0 MB/s

Don't forget OnLive, who actually benefit from this whole thing.- They don't have to honor the $50 vouchers GameStop has thrown away.- They get free publicity as a company who decided to give something for free to their potential customers and have been wronged by a competitor.-...

Their marketing department should send a huge fruits basket to the GameStop HQ to say thanks.

Maybe they don't, but they probably paid Square a small fortune to include the coupons in the first place, and got ripped off by the retailer - you can bet Square isn't going to give OnLine a partial refund...

"It appears that GameStop has a guilty conscience." Simple answer is that, they do not have a conscience. The reason for this is not out of guilt but out of profit. This has always been about profit. Why did they remove the coupons in the beginning? Because it was aiding their competition, in other words their potential profit. And why did they decide to offer the $50? Obvious reason, profit in the long run.
They realized the sheer amount of backlash from this and attempting to win people's hearts. All thi

I've totally changed though. Just don't leave, is all I'm asking, give me another chance. If you stay, I totally guarantee that I won't beat you up again, much, for at least a week, unless you do something dumb and get me mad again, or I have a drink, or I want to.

There's no conscience there, they're just p*ssed they got caught yet again, exposing their terrible business practices, I'm amazed honestly that anyone even shops there anymore, you don't even know if the game you're buying is new, legit, etc. I'll just stick with Steam, Amazon or even Best Buy.

Their management is running that company into the ground, the sooner the better I say. They deserve to die screaming and in flames.

Either that or this is a marketing promotion, to go even further.
So they "removed" a free game from competitor coupon and included their own coupon
for a "game from us", for the dilligent customers who learned about this whole thing.

How is this not a marketing thing to benefit Gamestop at further expense to the competitor?

Wait. Does that include the mail-in registration card? Also, does that mean there are game collectors who compare different registration cards sent out by companies and look for little differences, in the manner of these guys [ctccollector.ca]? Is that healthy? And couldn't you just view these as a "special GameStop edition"?

I decided a long time ago that if I couldn't pay the "new" price for the physical game, I probably didn't want it enough. And in that sense, I figured I'd rather support my local game development company than my local screw-you-completely retailer.

I bought Starcraft 2 from one of Amazon's partners (sold by Amazon, fulfilled by someone else) to find out that the "new" game I ordered had already been activated by someone else. Amazon has a very generous return policy so it's easy to see that someone had bought the game, activated it, and returned it. The problem is that it was sold as "new." Of course, getting my money back was easy but I'll never buy anything requiring an access code from Amazon again.